Psychology terms in Concepts

Using psychological knowledge and research to argue publicly for changes in policy or practice that would benefit people or groups, especially those who are marginalised.

A form of gender bias that exaggerates or invents differences between men and women and presents them as fixed.

Evidence based on personal stories or isolated observations rather than systematic data collection, which makes it vivid but unrepresentative and open to bias.

The principle that participants’ identities are not recorded or revealed, so that data cannot be linked to a particular person.

A theoretical framework for explaining behaviour, based on assumptions about what causes behaviour and how to study it, such as the biological, cognitive or sociocultural approach; also called a perspective.

The loss of participants from a study over time, especially in longitudinal research; it biases results when those who leave differ systematically from those who stay.

Biological, psychological, social or structural factors that make it harder for a person or group to change behaviour, even when the change would benefit them.

Any observable action of a person in response to biological, cognitive and environmental factors; in psychology the term also covers processes such as memory, emotion, motivation, learning and relationships that are inferred from what people do.

A form of gender bias that ignores or minimises real differences between men and women, often by studying one gender and assuming the findings apply to both.

A systematic tendency in thinking or research that distorts how information is collected, interpreted or reported, so that conclusions consistently lean in one direction rather than reflecting reality.

The problem in correlational research that the direction of a relationship is unknown: variable A may cause B, or B may cause A.

A relationship in which a change in one variable produces a change in another; establishing it requires that the two covary, that the cause comes first, and that alternative explanations are ruled out.

A concept referring to alteration in behaviour, cognition, emotion or biology over time, through maturation, experience, intervention or chance, and to the use of psychological knowledge to bring about and evaluate such alteration.

A difference between age groups caused by the different historical conditions each generation grew up in, rather than by age or development itself.

A broad, general idea that applies across all areas of psychology and is used to analyse and evaluate content and research; the course uses six: bias, causality, change, measurement, perspective and responsibility.

The duty to keep information about participants private and secure, sharing it only with their permission or when the law requires it.

An abstract psychological concept, such as intelligence, anxiety or attachment, that cannot be observed directly and has to be inferred from behaviour, self-report or physiological measures.

The extent to which a measure truly reflects the theoretical construct it is meant to measure, shown when it relates to other measures and behaviour as the theory predicts.

A research technique that systematically codes written, spoken or visual material into categories, which are then counted (quantitative) or interpreted for meaning (qualitative).

A real-world area in which psychological content and concepts are applied; the course uses four: health and well-being, human development, human relationships, and learning and cognition.

A relationship between two variables in which they change together, either in the same direction (positive correlation) or in opposite directions (negative correlation), without showing that one causes the other.

Weighing the possible costs of a study to participants, such as distress or deception, against its possible benefits, such as new knowledge or better treatments, to judge whether it is justified.

A type of validity showing the extent to which scores on a measure agree with, or predict, an outside criterion such as behaviour, diagnosis or a later outcome.

The careful analysis and evaluation of claims, evidence and arguments, including their assumptions, alternative explanations and limitations, in order to reach a reasoned judgement.

A research design that compares different groups, such as different age groups, at a single point in time, showing differences between groups rather than change within individuals.

A systematic distortion that arises when behaviour is studied or judged by the standards of one culture, or when findings from one culture are assumed to apply to all cultures.

The ability to understand, respect and work effectively with people from cultures other than one’s own, including awareness of how one’s own culture shapes one’s assumptions.

A full explanation given to participants after a study about its true aims and any deception, with a check on their well-being and a chance to ask questions or withdraw their data.

Misleading participants about the aims or procedures of a study, by withholding information or giving false information; acceptable only when unavoidable and causing no lasting harm.

A top-down research strategy that starts from an existing theory, derives a testable hypothesis and collects data to support or refute it.

The view that behaviour is caused by factors outside a person’s control, such as genes and brain chemistry (biological determinism) or upbringing and culture (environmental determinism), leaving little room for free will.

A distinction between measures that record the behaviour of interest itself and measures that infer a construct or process from something else, such as brain activity from blood oxygen.

A relationship in which more exposure to a possible cause goes with a greater effect; it supports, but does not prove, a causal explanation.

A research design in which neither the participants nor the researchers who collect the data know which condition each participant is in, so that their expectations cannot affect the results; in a single-blind design only the participants are unaware.

Data gathered systematically through observation, measurement or experiment, using procedures that others can check and repeat.

The principles researchers must take into account to protect the rights, dignity and well-being of participants and others affected by research, such as informed consent, protection from harm and confidentiality.

A group that reviews research proposals before they begin, judging whether risks to participants are acceptable and justified by the benefits and whether procedures meet ethical standards.

The extent to which a study’s findings can be generalised beyond the study itself, to other people, settings and times.

The large rise in average scores on intelligence tests across the twentieth century in many countries, too fast to be genetic and so attributed to environmental change.

The capacity of a person to choose how to act, rather than having behaviour fully determined by biological or environmental causes; closely linked to agency, the ability to act intentionally and influence one’s own life.

A systematic distortion in how people of different genders are studied, described, diagnosed or treated, either by exaggerating differences between them or by ignoring real differences.

Explaining behaviour as an integrated whole, on the view that a person in their relationships, culture and history is more than the sum of separate parts.

A computer-based reaction-time task that infers the strength of automatic associations between concepts, such as social groups and good or bad, from how quickly people sort words and images.

An attitude, expectation or association that influences judgement and behaviour without the person being aware of it, as opposed to explicit bias, which the person knows about and could report.

Approaches to psychology developed from within a culture, using its own concepts, values and ways of knowing to understand its people, rather than theories and methods imported from elsewhere.

A bottom-up research strategy that starts from data, often qualitative, identifies patterns and themes, and builds explanations or theory from them, as in grounded theory.

A participant’s voluntary agreement to take part in research after being told its purpose, procedures, risks and their rights; given by a parent or guardian for children.

The extent to which two or more independent observers or coders give the same ratings of the same behaviour or material, usually checked by correlating their scores or calculating agreement.

An approach that explains behaviour through the way biological, cognitive and sociocultural factors influence one another, rather than through any one factor alone.

A type of reliability showing the extent to which the items of a scale measure the same construct, so that scores on the items rise and fall together.

The extent to which a study shows that the change in the dependent variable was caused by the independent variable and not by other variables, flaws in the procedure or chance.

A deliberate action designed to change behaviour, cognition, emotion or health, such as a therapy, a medication, a training programme, a campaign or a policy.

A research design that measures the same participants repeatedly over an extended period, so that change within individuals and the order of events can be studied.

Biologically driven change in the body and brain that unfolds with age according to a genetic timetable, largely independent of specific experience, such as the development of the prefrontal cortex in adolescence.

A concept referring to how psychologists represent behaviour and mental processes as data, by choosing methods and operationalising variables so that the results are reliable, valid and credible.

A research strategy that combines quantitative and qualitative data in one study, so that each kind of data compensates for the limitations of the other.

A simplified representation of a complex process, usually showing its components and how they are linked, used to explain the process, test hypotheses and make predictions.

The extent to which the tasks and setting of a study resemble situations that people meet in everyday life.

The aim of collecting and interpreting evidence in a way that does not depend on the researcher’s personal views or expectations, so that another researcher following the same procedure would reach the same result.

The process of stating exactly how a variable will be manipulated or measured in observable terms, so that a construct becomes measurable and the procedure can be repeated by others.

The standpoint from which behaviour is explained and studied, including the approach used, its assumptions, and whose viewpoint (researcher, participant or culture) shapes the questions and interpretation.

An inactive treatment, such as a sugar pill or a sham procedure, given to a control group so that the effect of a real treatment can be separated from the effect of expecting to be treated.

The view that knowledge should be based on observable and measurable evidence, collected and tested through the scientific method, with the aim of discovering general laws of behaviour.

Publicly recording a study’s hypotheses, procedure and planned analysis before the data are collected, so that confirmatory tests can be told apart from analyses chosen after seeing the results.

Research that records exposures or experiences as they happen and then follows participants forward in time to measure later outcomes, avoiding reliance on memory.

The principle that participants should face no greater risk of physical or psychological harm than in everyday life, and that researchers must stop and support them if harm occurs.

The ability to apply psychological knowledge to personal, social and real-world problems in a critical, ethical and culturally aware way, including understanding how psychological research is carried out.

The tendency for studies with positive or statistically significant results to be published more often than studies with null or negative results, so that the published research overstates an effect.

Non-numerical data, such as words, images or observed meanings from interviews, open questions or field notes, analysed for themes and meanings.

Numerical data, such as scores, counts, times or ratings, that can be summarised with descriptive statistics and analysed with inferential statistics.

Explaining a complex behaviour by breaking it down into simpler, more basic components, such as one neurotransmitter, one gene or separate memory stores.

The statistical tendency for an extreme score on one measurement to be followed by a score closer to the average on the next, because extreme scores partly reflect temporary chance factors.

The consistency of a measure: the extent to which it gives the same results on repeated occasions (test–retest), across observers (inter-rater) or across its items (internal consistency).

The duty of psychologists to act ethically towards research participants, animals, clients and society, protecting their well-being and rights and considering how findings are communicated and used.

Research that looks back in time, usually by asking participants to recall past experiences or by using existing records, after the outcome of interest has occurred.

The right of participants to leave a study at any time, without giving a reason or losing any payment, and to have their data removed.

Data in which participants describe their own thoughts, feelings, experiences or behaviour, usually through questionnaires, interviews or diaries.

Research that may have consequences for the participants or for the group of people they represent, for example by affecting how that group is seen or treated in society.

The position that behaviour is strongly influenced by biological and environmental factors but that people still make real choices within the limits those factors set.

The improvement or disappearance of symptoms of a disorder without treatment, which has to be controlled for when judging whether a treatment caused change.

The judgement that a result is unlikely to have occurred by chance alone if there were no real effect, usually when the probability of such a result is less than 5% (p < 0.05).

Negative attitudes towards a person or group, and unfair treatment of them, because of a characteristic such as a mental health disorder, leading to shame, discrimination and reluctance to seek help.

The requirement for a causal claim that the cause comes before the effect in time, which longitudinal and prospective designs can show and one-off correlational studies cannot.

An organised set of principles that explains and predicts behaviour and can be tested by research.

A variable that is not measured or controlled but influences both variables in a correlation, so that they appear related even when neither causes the other.

The principles of replacement (avoiding animals where possible), reduction (using as few animals as possible) and refinement (minimising pain and distress) that guide animal research.

How well an intervention produces its intended change in real-world conditions, judged by the size, durability and reach of the change; often distinguished from efficacy, how well it works in controlled trials.

The use of more than one method, data source, researcher or theory to study the same question, so that conclusions do not depend on a single measure; agreement increases credibility.

A false positive: concluding that an effect or relationship exists, by rejecting the null hypothesis, when in reality there is none.

A false negative: failing to detect an effect or relationship that really exists, by retaining the null hypothesis when it is false; more likely with small samples and unreliable measures.

The extent to which a measure or study captures what it claims to capture. Types include face, content, construct and criterion validity for measures, and internal and external validity for studies.

Any characteristic or factor that can change or differ between people, situations or times and can be manipulated or measured, such as reaction time, anxiety score or hours of sleep.

People whose age, health, circumstances or relationship with the researcher limit their ability to give informed consent or protect their own interests, such as children.

A control procedure in treatment research in which the control group receives the treatment after the study ends, so that no one is denied it while its effect is measured.

Samples drawn from Western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic societies, which make up most participants in published psychology research but only a small minority of the world’s population.